Mechanism eob compressed-aik



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. W. FOWBLE.

Railway Alarm and Signal. 1

Patented Aug. 5, 1856.

Fhmwumn nwm. Washington. D. (L

. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. W. FOWBLE.

Railway Alarm and Signal. No. 15,480. Patented Aug. 5, 1856.

Fay F UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. FOWBLE, OE CINCINNATI, OHIO.

MECHANISM FOR COMPRESSED-AIR RAILROAD-SIGNALS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,480, dated August 5, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J W. FowBLE, of the city of Cincinnati, in thecounty of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in what- I term a Railway Alarm'and Signal; and I dohereby declare that the following isa full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon.

Similar letters and figures refer to corresponding parts of theimprovement.

My improvements consist in the arrangement of a system of valves, andmechanism composed of rods, levers, springs, catches, when operated uponby compressed air, for the purpose of ringing an alarm bell and.throwing out a signal placed at the cross-- ings of railway tracks, forthe purpose of warning travelers who require-to cross the track of theapproach of a train of cars, and prevent them from trying to efl'ect acrossing until after the train passes, thereby preventing thedestruction of life and loss of property which so frequently occurs atsuch points of the railway as require to be often crossed for ordinaryroad purposes.

The alarm bell is made to ring through the agency of air compressed by asuit-able bellows, provided with a lever or some suitable mechanicalcontrivance, and placed from a quarter of a mile to a mile from thecrossing, and as the cars pass the bellows they strike the leverattached thereto, and compress suflicient air which is forced throughapipe to the crossing and there operates on a system of levers andsprings which set'sa pendulum in motion that operates a clapper hammeragainst the bell, and at the same time the signal flag is sprung out,thus giving an alarm to approaching travelers that a train is near, andprevent them from attempting to cross until the train has passed. As thetrain passes the bell-tower at the crossing there are levers projectingup from each side 'of the track which are operated upon by the passingtrain, and are made tore-set the system of levers, catches and springsthat operate the clapper hammer of the bell and throw in the signalflag, in readiness to be again acted upon as before by an approachingtrain in either direction striking a lever attached to a bellows'andcommunicating compressed air through a pipe which is made to set apendulum in motion, causing the bell to ring and throwing out the signalas before described, and again as the train passes the apparatus isre-set as already alluded to. Thus, the whole operation of. ringing thealarm bell, and throwing out the signal as also the re-setting of theapparatus as the pressing air and conducting it through pipes to theapparatus. Fig. B, 1s a side elevation of those portions represented inFig.

A showing also a car to illustrate its action on the apparatusforringing the alarm bell and displaying the signal. Fig. C, is a separateand longitudinal sectional view of a corrugated plate, laid between therails where the road is crossed, and Fig. D is a transverse sectionalview of the same in connection with the rails. This plate is providedwith angular corrugations and laid at crossings, which, from itsroughness prevents cattle and stock of all kinds from standingor lyingupon it, thus avoiding accidents arising from this cause. Fig. E, is alongitudinal sectional elevation of the bell-tower showing the apparatusin detail for operating the bell hammer displaying the signal, andresetting the machine. Fig. F, is a horizontal sectional view of thebell and signal tower, for representing the catches and springs forholding and operating the pendulum used for giving motion to the clapperhammer of the bell.

1, 1, represents cases attached to the side of the road the requireddistance from the bell-tower6, and contain bellows 2 for compressing theair as fully shown on the left of Fig. B. I do not confine myself to anyparticular apparatus for compressing air, cylinders, or other forms ofbellows may answer the same purpose.

3, 3, are pipes on each side of the tower, used for conducting the airfrom the bellows to the apparatus.

4 represents the angular corrugated plate laid between the rails wherethe road is crossed for purposes before mentioned.

5 is a car, furnished with a catch lever 14 which strikes the bellowslevers 12, and 13, as it passes, and compresses the air in the bellowsand -forces it through pipes 3, 3, to the bell-tower 6, and operates theresetting levers 10 and 11, which levers and shaft 9 to which they areattached are used for properly arranging the mechanism employed ingiving the alarm and raising the signal. The catch lever 14 is hinged,and if by accident it should strike any of the levers on the wrong side,it would fold up without effecting any damage.

8 represents the signal, elevated, in Fig. B which is supposed to beover and across the road, at the side of the track, for givingadditional warning of the approach of a train of cars.

7, is the bell supported by any convenient means over the bell-tower.

By referring to Figs. F and E, the opera tion of the machine may beexplained as fol- ].ows: As it is represented in Fig. 1E, it is supposedto be properly set for giving an alarm and throwing up the signal bymeans of compressed air from either of the bellows (with the exceptionofthe horizontal lever 2 being held down by the catch 32it should be free,and in the position denoted by the dotted lines).

24, is an air chestto which the pipes 3 leading from the bellows on eachside, are connected, and the chest is provided with two valves 25 on itsinside, over the ends of the pipes, as denoted by the dotted lines inthe Figs. E and F, and when the air is forced into the chest from onedirection, the valve admitting air from the opposite direction closes.The compressed air thenopens the lever valve 26, the end of whichoperates on the vertical lever 33, which draws the catch 34 out andthereby liberates the pendulum 15, which is set in motion by beingprovided with a weight at its lower end, and works between the segmentalguides 16. The top portion of the pendulum strikes against a system ofcatches as represented in the top of the tower, which operates theclapper hammer 17 against the bell 7 and thus gives an alarm. The signal8 is allowed to raise up by being liberated from the pin 42 on thependulum and rod 41. Attached to the axis of the signal when thependulum is set in motion. The counterbalance 31 attached to the axis ofthe signal, falls, and carries the signal out and up which will be fullycomprehended by reference to Fig. '15.

The levers 18, rods 22, lever 27, pendulum 35, rods 40, catch plates 36,37, and 38, springs 29 and 30, and levers 20, 28 and 39, are used forre-setting the apparatus to be again operated upon by the compressedair, which resetting is effected by means of the catch '14 coming incontact with the lever 10 or 11 as shown in Fig. A, so that when thetrain passes the tower it re-sets the apparatus when going in eitherdirection. The hinged catch 14 acts on one only of the levers 10 or 11according to the direction the cars pass the tower.

The catch plate 36, 37, 38, and lever 39 are employed to release thesetting pendulum from its catch 37, by operating either of the levers 27with the rods 22 and their attachments which move the fulcrum lever 23,and by means of the rods 40, draws the lever 39 against the outer edgeof a plate attached to the plate 38 which forces the plates 36 and 38in, so that the alarm pendulum 15 will strike against the end of thcatch plate 36 (which is attached to the double bell-crank lever 37 thatholds the setting pendulum 3 5) and thereby release it, and the spring30 then forces the setting pendulum to its set position, to be againoperated upon by means of the compressed air, and likewise resets thesignal 8 ready to be again thrown up and out as before described, afterwhich the spring 29 produces a reaction which catches the settingpendulum 35 at the catch lever 37, ready to be acted upon from theoutside of the tower by a passing train through means above specified.

lVhat I claim as my improvement and desire to secure by Letters Patentis- 1. The arrangement of the valves 25 and lever valve 26, with the airchest 24, when acted upon by compressed air for the purpose of settingin motion the alarming apparatus for purposes before mentioned.

2. I also claim the arrangement of the levers 18, rods 22, levers 2720,and 28, rods 40, and lever 39, catch plate 36, 37 and 38 and springs 29and 30, and these arranged with the shafts 9, 9, and levers 10, and 11,for the purpose of re-setting the alarming and signal apparatus asbefore described, whenoperated on by the lever valve 26, for purposesmentioned in the foregoing specification.

JOHN FOW'BLE.

Witnesses:

MARTIN BENSON, L. W. SMITH.

